It was a hot one this past Friday the Thirteenth, but it was also the perfect day to get a cheerful tattoo! I woke up that morning with the itch, you know, that burn inside you that screams "GET A NEW TATTOO NOW!" Being one who listens to her body, I agreed, and made my way up to Burlington. Once in town, I remembered that Friday the Thirteenth probably isn't the best day for "drop-in" tattoos, since anti-superstitious people may have booked their "lucky 13" tattoo's in advance. That didn't stop me from checking to see if everyone was booked up. The tattoo I had in mind was a simple cupcake behind my right ear. Cute, simple, and totally fits with my character! I wasn't willing to pay more than $60 dollars for it, since it's so small and not very complicated, so I skipped my preferred shop because they tend to run on the pricey side, or so I've experienced.
At A Glance Author Allison Contact Allison@bme.anon IAM xglamxgirlx When A week ago Artist Paul Studio Body Art Tattoo Location Burlington, VT My first stop was at a shop I had heard mixed things about. I decided it would be worth a shot to at least talk to someone about a tattoo, and get an impression for myself. Low and behold they were booked up, but the guy working the counter set me up with a consultation for the next day. He was very nice, and the shop looked clean, although I didn't get a chance to browse through portfolios.
On to the next shop, Body art tattoo, where I have gotten a couple of my piercing, but not a tattoo. Luckily they were not booked, and there would only be a short wait until I could meet with an artist. Once the time came, I met Paul, the artist who would be doing my tattoo, and we had a little chat/drawing session about what I wanted. I described to him the colors and general shape and size I wanted it and he got right to work. He even whipped out his laptop to scan & resize the rough drawing he made. So high-tech! After we decided on a good size, he had me sit in the chair while he got set up.
I was under the impression that you should wear gloves when handling ANYTHING that has a chance of touching me, but Paul didn't wear gloves while setting up, or dispensing the ink into those little cups. I was relieved when he did put some on for handling the needle/gun etc. So, not the most sterile environment I could have asked for, but we all learn from our mistakes.
So now it was time to get down to business and inject some ink into my pale skin. I wasn't nervous until I heard the buzz of the gun, and then the feeling of "whoa I'm soooo getting a new tattoo" kicked in. Let me remind you of the placement: behind my right ear. At first, it was the same ole' familiar sting/ vibration I was used to, but once he outlined the top of the cupcake, where the skin becomes a little thinner, it became apparent that this wasn't going to be as painless as I'd hoped. It was a sharper pain than I was accustomed too, but I got used to it. There would be moments where I'd have to grit my teeth just a little, or dig a nail into my hand, but other than that it went smoothly. Let's just say I was grateful to hear the words "all done!" To my surprise, I didn't receive and aftercare sheet, or very detailed instructions on how/when to clean this bad boy, but since I've gotten tattoo's in the past, I knew what to do.
The tattooing didn't take more than 15 minutes, if that. He said the tattoo came to $70, which I could deal with. So I gave him the cash and $25 extra for a tip, since he was so nice and did a great job. My cheeks hurt from smiling for the rest of the night, and I showed everyone I knew.
The healing process went super smoothly and only took about 5 days to fully flake off. I had been washing it once or twice a day with a non-drying cleanser, which was recommended to me by the artist who did my first tattoo, and also keeping it moist with A&D ointment for the first day or two, and then I switched to Aveeno unscented lotion after that. All the colors came out beautiful and all the lines are perfect. I'll be going to my preferred shop to have them put a stem on the cherry of the tattoo, and maybe even some sprinkles. I probably won't get a tattoo at body art again, just because I like my preferred shop better :]